SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -A loaded handgun was recovered from a student at Glendale High School Thursday afternoon. The Springfield School District said the student was taken to the juvenile detention center.  

School police and administration received a tip and responded accordingly, the district says everything was handled the best way possible.  

“We received a tip at about 2:30 this afternoon that there may be a student with a weapon at school,” said Stephen Hall Chief Communications Officer with Springfield Public Schools. “And so our school police officer and our school administrative team immediately responded to that tip.”   

According to SPS, the tip received was timely and specific, so the student in question was removed from the classroom and authorities found a loaded handgun on the student.   

“We communicated to our families immediately at dismissal today of what occurred and let them know that there is zero tolerance for any weapon on campus,” Hall said. “We reminded them of what the consequences are that this individual would be handled by law enforcement.” 

Glendale High School parents were notified of the situation when school dismissed Thursday. 
 

Marilyn Sperr is an SPS parent who attended SPS University Thursday night. Sperr said she’s glad the school has procedures in place for situations like this.  

“You hope you never have to use it, but you practice it enough to know that if it does happen, you know what to do,” Sperr said. “So it does bring comfort to know that and to know that school authorities take tips or threats seriously.” 

Safety and security in schools on a day-to-day basis is the number one priority for SPS.  

“And it’s everyone’s responsibility. And I think that’s what you saw play out today at Glendale,” Hall said. “From the person who saw something and decided, I’m going to report that directly to the administration, and then from the administrative team and the school police to the support staff, everyone took their role very, very seriously and realized that they play an important part in the safety and security of a school on a daily basis.” 
 

Hall also stressed the importance of community and communication when it comes to safety in schools.   

“This was a perfect example of someone who saw something that was concerning to them. they may or may not have been certain of what they saw, but they were concerned enough to report that directly to our administration,” Hall said. “And when that happened, we were able to immediately respond, remove the student, and handle the situation appropriately.”